Caterpillar faces multiple lawsuits over truck, bus engines

PEORIA — Caterpillar Inc. is facing 15 lawsuits over charges of problems in engines the company supplied for trucks and buses.

While no deaths or injuries resulted, regular breakdowns and even engine fires were cited as among the problems faced by companies that purchased the engines.

It isn’t clear what the litigation could cost Caterpillar, according to a Friday story in the Wall Street Journal.

“The suits are a potential embarrassment for a company that regularly says the reliability of its products justifies premium prices,” the Journal noted.

Caterpillar, which exited the truck and bus engine market four years ago, offered the following statement regarding the lawsuits.

“Caterpillar Inc. is addressing various claims relating to alleged performance issues with emissions technology in some of its 2007 (Environmental Protection Agency)-compliant C13 and C15 ACERT on-highway engines,” the company said.

“Caterpillar has worked diligently to deliver operating cost improvements and other value-added features in its engines to enable our customers to benefit from this technology. Our customers have utilized and had success with the performance of these engines in trucks, buses and RVs across millions of miles in North America.

“Caterpillar looks forward to addressing these allegations now that they have been consolidated in one forum.”

Last year, Caterpillar paid $900,000 to a school district in San Antonio to settle a suit over bus engines. The school district had charged that two school buses had been destroyed because of engine fires.

Steve Tarter is Peoria Journal Star business editor. He can be reached at 686-3260 of starter@pjstar.com. Follow his blog, Minding Business, on pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @SteveTarter.